Louisiana Gov. Appeals FEMA Aid Rejection

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Louisiana's entire congressional delegation have asked the White House to reconsider a decision denying federal aid to individuals in four parishes hit by tornadoes and heavy storms in November. The Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected the state's request for assistance last month, saying the damage was not severe enough to warrant the aid. Blanco bulked up her appeal with further details of the damage in Caldwell, LaSalle, Natchitoches and Vernon parishes. ''We need individual assistance for those in a population who have lost everything,'' Blanco said in the letter, released Wednesday, that was sent to President Bush through the FEMA office in Texas. Blanco's three-page letter described the nearly destroyed high school in Olla and the loss of homes in several communities where the closest available housing was more than 75 miles away. She detailed the high unemployment rates in the area that were exacerbated by the closure of businesses damaged by the Nov. 23 tornadoes. The state's seven-member congressional delegation also sent a letter to the President, saying they were united in backing Blanco's appeal of the FEMA decision. If FEMA refuses to help again, the federal Small Business Administration would step in to begin offering low-interest loans, according to Art Jones with the Louisiana Homeland Security Office.